Strouse Photo Tip #23: 3 Tips for Wedding Dress Shopping
I wish I could get married over and over again for the sole fact that I want to keep buying wedding dresses! Alas, I am happily married, so the one wedding dress I bought will probably be the only one I'll ever buy. However, I'd love to offer you some helpful wedding dress shopping tips from a photographers point of view!
#1 - Find a wedding dress that makes you feel comfortable
Just as we mentioned in our wedding shoe buying post, being comfortable in your dress seems like an obvious tip. However, it's often tossed to the side with the idea that "this is a wedding dress, it's not meant to be comfortable." While that is half true, I mean something slightly different when it comes to the word "comfort." I don't necessarily mean find a dress that you want to lounge in all weekend. I mean find a wedding dress that makes you comfortable in your own skin! If you find the most perfect dress in the world, but you feel really uncomfortable or it's not hugging your body just right, you'll be able to see that tension in your pictures! We want you to look FLAWLESS and give Beyonce a run for her money.
#2 - Alter your dress
I know, I know. You're sitting there thinking: "Allie, these are tips EVERYONE gives. I know this stuff already." I totally agree with you. However, I think it's important to reiterate. I think it's super important to get your dress altered to fit you like a glove. This goes back to our #1 tip of comfort. Having your dress properly altered will make you feel more comfortable on your wedding and will make a WORLD of difference for your pictures. The last thing we want you to have to worry with is a dress that is constantly falling down or one that isn't properly hemmed. While we can work magic with the camera, we want to limit how much photoshopping we do to keep your pictures real! :)
#3 - If you are on a budget, shop consignment!
I am an AVID consignment and resale shopper. All of my personal clothes come from Ashby in Carytown. I truly believe you can look like $100 million without spending anywhere close to that amount. Shopping consignment helps you find an amazing dress at a fraction of the cost while then getting it altered to look like it was personally made for you!
If you are in RVA and need a consigment shop to look for your wedding dress, I 100% recommend Bliss Bridal on Huguenot Road! They have some of the most beautiful dresses! A couple of months ago, they even had a Kate Middleton wedding dress in stock! Ask for Jessica, the owner. She is so incredible, sweet and amazing!
My best friend got her dress from Bliss Bridal! Here's her bridal session pictures! How gorgeous!
Have you bought your dress? What are some other tips you can think of? Keep thinking and in the mean time, here are some of our brides' dresses!
Need more wedding tips? We have more STROUSE PHOTO TIPS here for ya!